Printing press



March 12,1940. c.. s. CRAFTS "PRINTING PRESS oriiha1 Filea'm 19, 1936 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 y" KZQ NEYS March 12,1940. 5, CRAFTS PRINTING PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 19, 1936 2XNVENTOF? ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PRINTING rasss Curtis 8. Crafts, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application May 19, 1936, Serial No. 80,484

Renewed July 1,1939 13 Claims. (Cl. 101-157) The invention relates to new and useful improvements in inking mechanisms for printing presses, and more especially to such improvements in inking mechanisms constituting a part of ro- 5 tary intaglio presses.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

' Of the drawings:

Fig. l is an elevation, with parts in section and parts broken away, of a press embodying the invention; and n 25 Fig. 2 is a plan view on line 2-2 of Fig. l,

with, the splash plate broken away.

Objects of the invention are to provide a novel intaglio inking mechanism of great efficiency and of simple construction and easy adjustment and operation, and to provide the same especially well capacitated to employ quick-drying inks in high-speed'presses; to provide a novel inking system preferably combining the advantages of regulated immersive inking of the rotating design concurrent with the impactive action of a sheet of ink against the design, while at; the same time maintaining regulable circulative flow of the entireink body, together with continuous cleansing of the ink stream; to prox-y-vide simple and immediate regulation of the depth of immersion of the design cylinder in the ink body, the total quantity of 'the ink flow, and the combined immersive andimpactive inking action upon the rotating design; to provide for cleansing the design by the impactive ink stream, and especially to secure such action on the freshly inked design, and applied preferably contrary to the direction of rotation of the design; to secure powerful and adequate inking for fast intaglio printing, while at the same time exposing only a relatively small proportion of the ink outside the circulating system and thereby reducing evaporative action to a minimum consistent with the maintenance of the foregoingly describedinking action and conditions.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example one embodiment of the invention, an intaglio design cylinder l is journaled in the side frames 2 of the press and an impression cylinder 3 is 5 journaled in the press frame and cooperates with the cylinder l to print the web. A backing cylinder 4 for the impression cylinder 3 is likewise journaled in the press frame. The foregoing mechanism may be of any known or suitable form 10 v for effecting intaglio printing in so far as regards the main novel features of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention inking means for the design cylinder are provided 15 comprising a reservoir or body of ink in which the design cylinder continuously runs,,and also a sheet-like stream of ink projected against the intaglio design as the cylinder rotates in the body of ink, and in accordance with one feature of the invention, the sheet-like stream is projected against the inked design and in the opposite direction to the rotation of the design cylinder. ,As embodied, a atti-cylindrical ink trough i2 is mounted to maintain the body of ink in which the design cylinder is partly immersed as it rotates, and in accordance with one feature of the invention, means are provided for varying the depth of immersion of the design cylinder in, the ink. In said embodied form the ink trough l2 has two fiat ends l3 and I4, and has a horizontally-disposed pivotal mounting it along one of its side edges, and in the present embodiment the ink supply pipe is used as the pivotal support as will be later more fully described. The opposite side edge 15 of the trough I2 is used as a spillway edge for the ink in the trough, the level of this spillage edge being varied to vary the depth of immersion of the design cylinder in the ink containedv in the trough. o Said level changing means, as embodied, comprises a plurality of pins 20, 2| and 22 mounted at either end of the ink trough l2 and projecting outwardly therefrom. Mounted on either side frame 20f the press is an arm 24 pivotally mounted on a pin 25, which is fixed to the press side frame and projects inwardly therefrom. Each of the arms 24 has at its bottom end a notch or hook 26 into which any one of the pins 20, 2| or 22 on that side of the trough is adapted to enter and to be supported by the arm. Each arm 24 has a handle 21. By reason of thehook engaging any one of the pins, the angular position of the trough l2 about its pivotal support It, is changed and thereby the level of the spillveniently constitutes the pivotal mounting for the ink trough I2 as already described. The

. horizontal reach of the supply pipe 3! extends along and is contiguous to the design cylinder, and has an ink ejecting slot or plurality of ejecting orifices 32 positioned to; project a sheet of ink against the design cylinder. In the illustrated arrangement this inking mechanism is arranged on the same side of the cylinder as the doctor blade, and the sheet of ink is projected against the design as it rotates forwardly out of the body of ink in the trough i2, the sheet of ink impinging angularly on the cylinder oppositely to its direction of rotation. A suitable valve 32 or other control mechanism for the ink supply may be provided.

In the embodied form of the circulating system, a structure comprising vertical walls 35 and 36 extends across between, abuts against and is supported by the side frames 2 of the press. Beneath the ink trough I2 and supported on the walls 35 and 36 is a horizontally-disposed foraminate plate 31, which acts as an ink strainer, the ink flowing therethrough into the chamber 38. The chamber 38 is formed by the bottom parts of the vertically-disposed plates 35 and 36 together with'a bottom plate 39 preferably integral with the side plates. The bottomplate 39 is preferably horizontally inclined cross-wise of the press so as to provide one or more low collecting points or sumps for the ink, the ink passing thence into a return pipe 4|, and is then forced back into the system by suitable means such as a pump 42 which returns the ink to the pipe 3|. The ink flow may be varied and controlled by a variable speed drive for the pump, if desired. A suitable splash plate 44 is mounted on the top of the side wall 35 and serves as a partial closure on that side of the design cylinder.

The doctor blade mechanism-may be of any suitable form, so far as concerns the main features of the present invention, and as shown herein a doctor blade mechanism 45 is provided which is the same or similar to that shown, described and claimed in my co-pending application, S. N. 57,683 filed January 6, 1936.

By my present invention a very efficient and complete inking of the design is effected, through the cylinder being immersed and rotating in a body of ink, such immersion being nicely regulated as to the depth or quantity of ink so applied, while at the same time the beneficial action of an impactive stream of ink directed against the freshly inked design surface is realized, whereby a very thorough cleaning of the design is efi'ected while at the same time an adequate supply of ink remains upon the design, as concurrently the benefits are secured of immersive application of ink to the rotating design cylfor moving the trough about its pivotal mounting.

2. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, a pivotal mounting at one side edge of the'trough, ink supply means coaxial 'with the pivotal mounting, a spillway along the other side edge of the trough, and means for moving the trough about its pivotal mounting to vary the immersion of the cylinder in the ink.

3. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, a pivotal mounting at one side edge of the trough and a spillway along the other side edge of the trough, ink supplying means, means for causing a flow of ink peripherally about the cylinder, and means for moving the trough about its pivotal mounting from one to another of a plurality of levels to vary the immersion of the cylinder in the ink.

4. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink trough for the design cylinder, means for creating ink flowage in a current peripheral- 1y of the cylinder, the ink spilling along one side edge of the trough, and means for varying the spillage level of the trough.

5. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, a ink trough for the design cylinder, means for supplying a sheet-like stream of ink from a side edge of the trough toward and aboutthe design cylinder, means for spilling a sheet-like stream of ink over the opposite side edge of the trough, and means for varying the level of the spillway edge to regulate the immersion of the design cylinder in the ink.

6. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink reservoir chamber, a parti-cylindrical ink trough about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for taking ink from the reservoir and projecting it in a sheet like stream from a side edge of the trough against and throughout the length of the design cylinder, the ink spilling over, the opposite sideedge of the trough and returning to the reservoir.

7. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink reservoir chamber and a casing thereabove enclosingthe greater part of the design cylinder, a parti-cylindrical ink trough within the casing and positioned about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for the reservoir and projecting it in a sheet like stream from a side edge of the trough against and throughout the length of, the design cylintaking ink from der, the ink spilling over the opposite side edge of the trough and returning to the reservoir.

8. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, a spaced apart, partly cylindrical ink trough about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for projecting a stream of ink against the design, and substantially filling the space between the design and trough with a circulating ink flow, and means for varying the level of the ink in the trough. M I

9. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink trough for the design cylinder, means for projecting a stream of ink against the design, and for filling the space between the design and trough with a circulating ink flow, and means for securing the trough at different positions so as to accommodate des'ngn cylinders of different sizes.

10'. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink trough for the design cylinder, means for projecting a sheet-like stream of ink substantially across the design, and means for.

variably positioning the trough to maintain a substantially uniform spacing with respect to cylinders of different diameters.

11. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means'including a design cylinder, a pivotally mounted ink trough about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for supplying a stream of ink between the cylinder and trough, and means for moving the trough about its pivotal mounting to vary the level of the ink in the trough.

12. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, a pivotally mounted ink trough about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for projecting a stream of ink between the trough and cylinder oppositely to the rotation of the cylinder, and means for moving the trough about its pivotal mountingrto regulate the level of the ink in the trough,

13. A rotary intaglio press including in combination printing means including a design cylinder, an ink trough about the lower part of the design cylinder, means for creating ink flowage between the trough and cylinder, and transversely of the trough and substantially filling the space between the design and trough, and means for varying the position of the trough to maintain a free space between the trough and design cylinders of different sizes.

CURTIS S. CRAFTS. 

